Finding Mistletoe : Christmas of Love Collaboration

by AJ Alexander

  “Daydreaming again?” My dad bumps my shoulder, bringing my mind back to the present.

  “No. Just tired. I didn’t get to bed until early this morning.” My cheeks heat as memories of my night with Lucas filter through my mind. “I should never have agreed to watch a scary movie before bed.”

  “Well maybe something not so scary this time.”

  His mocking tone speaks volumes. He may not know exactly what we were doing last night, but he knows I’m lying through my teeth. We both laugh softly before his expression turns serious.

  “Are you happy?”

  “Yes, I am.” I give him a reassuring smile, then check my watch. “It’s closing time, Pops. Why don’t you head home, and I’ll close things up here? Lucas is picking me up so we can have dinner together.”

  He stretches his arms behind his head. “If you’re sure. But try to make it home tonight, or at least call your old man. I worry about my little girl.”

  “I promise, Dad. Sorry to worry you so much.”

  He kisses my cheek before heading toward the back. Suddenly, the bell over the door chimes.

  “How can I help…” My words catch in my throat as I take in my new customer.

  Hana is standing just inside the door, a large kitchen knife clasped in her right hand.

  “He’s mine, Mistletoe. I won’t let anyone have him. Especially not you,” she says before charging in my direction.

  I grab the closest thing to me—the gingerbread Christmas tree—and shove it in her direction.

  “Who are you talking about, Hana? I haven’t taken anyone from you.” I back slowly toward the back room, hoping my dad might hear the commotion and come to my aid.

  “Lucas! I’ve done everything to get his attention, but he never noticed me. All my letters and pictures. He never once came looking for me,” she mutters as she shoves the tree to the side, stalking closer to me.

  I grab a few Christmas ornaments off the display and begin throwing them at her. Anything to keep her from getting too close to me.

  She quickly bats them to the side and continues advancing in my direction. “Now he’s finally here, but you took him from me!”

  Streaks of mascara run down Hana’s face, and her blonde hair is a mess, sticking out in every direction. I’ve never seen her look this disheveled before, but she has never blatantly attacked me either.

  “Hana, listen to reason. Lucas and I just met. There’s no way he would want anything to do with me.” My steps are halted by the large throne we have for my dad to take pictures with the kids.

  “I saw you leaving the Manor this morning. I saw you two going at it through the kitchen window last night. I thought I would give him one more chance to come to his senses, but he threw me to the side again. Now I have to get rid of you. It’s the only way. Then he’ll see me.”

  “You saw us?” I question as step around the throne, putting it between the two of us.

  How could Hana believe that going to such lengths to get his attention would work? Stalking isn’t attractive.

  “He’s mine, and no one can have him but me!” Hana shouts as she comes charging in my direction. “Now be a good little girl and stay still.”

  Realizing there’s no escape, I push the throne forward and run. Hana is faster than me, slashing the knife across my arm. Blazing pain shoots through me, but I can’t waste time dwelling on it. I sprint for the door, but Hana tackles me, knocking me into the Christmas village display. My head bounces off the table, causing my vision to blur as figures come crashing down around me. I turn over onto my back just as Hana straddles my waist.

  My vision starts to fade as I search around me for something, anything, to keep Hana from plunging that knife into my chest.

  “Now Lucas can be mine,” Hana sighs in relief as she raises the knife high into the air.

  Unwilling to give in, I grip a figure lying beside me and swing my arm toward her head.

  “Mistletoe?” I hear my father call, but it sounds far away. “Are you alright? What’s…”

  I try to pick my head up to look for him, but it starts to spin, and I have to lay it back down. Unable to fight any longer, I let the darkness consume me.

  Chapter 10

  Lucas

  Just as I’m pouring the pasta into the colander, the doorbell rings. I check the clock and realize it’s later than I thought. Chris must have driven Misty here when I didn’t show up. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to make for dinner, finally deciding on spaghetti and homemade meatballs. I don’t know how to make a lot of things, but I make a fantastic sauce.

  I wipe my hands on the hand towel hanging from the stove before heading for the front door.

  “I don’t know why you rang the bell. This is your house.” My smile drops when I notice that it isn’t Misty at the door.

  “You need to come with me. Mistletoe has been in an accident,” Chris tells me.

  Panic overtakes me as images of Misty lying broken and alone filter through my mind. I was just at the shop a few hours ago. How could things have changed so drastically in so little time?

  “What kind of accident?” I question as I shove my feet into my boots.

  “We need to get back to the hospital. The police want to speak with you.” Chris turns and heads toward a small hatchback car.

  “Police? Statement? What the hell is going on, Chris?” My vision begins to blur, and it becomes harder and harder to breathe. “I need answers. Now!”

  Noticing my distress, Chris grips both of my shoulders. “I need you to calm down.”

  I nod my head, willing my breathing to return to normal.

  “Mistletoe is fine. The police just need to ask you some questions.”

  “What happened?” I question, taking a step away from him. Now that I know she is alright, it’s easier to focus on my surroundings.

  “I’ll explain on the way,” he responds before opening the driver side door and climbing in.

  I quickly follow suit, rushing toward the passenger side and slamming the door shut behind me.

  As the landscape speeds by, Chris begins explaining what happened. “Hana attacked her.”

  “What?”

  “I was in the back room and heard a commotion in the store, so I went to see what was going on. I heard Hana saying something about how she had to get Misty out of the way so you could be hers. There was a crash, and when I got out front, both of them were passed out on the floor. I’m not sure exactly how it happened.”

  All my interactions with Hana filter through my mind as we race toward the hospital. She’s been throwing herself at me since the second I walked into the pizza place, but she seemed harmless enough.

  “This can’t be happening,” I mumble, leaning over and resting my forehead on the dashboard as I tug at the strands of my hair. “Is Misty alright?”

  Chris place a hand on my shoulder. “She’s fine. She has a gash on her arm, but the paramedics said it didn’t need stitches, and they were checking her for a concussion when I left to come pick you up.”

  “Why would Hana do something like this?” I wonder aloud. “We barely know each other.”

  “Who knows why people do the things they do? Let’s just get to the hospital.”

  We spend the rest of the drive in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. As I think over the last couple of days, I can’t help but blame myself for this. Misty was attacked because of me. I would give up my career, money, even my life to ensure she is safe. Knowing that she is in the situation because of me is my worst nightmare come to life.

  “I know that look, Lucas Barnes. Don’t go leaving my little girl,” Chris says as he pulls into the hospital parking lot. After putting the car into park, he turns in my direction. “None of this is your fault. From the sound of it, Hana would have attacked anyone that stopped her from getting to you.”

  I rest my elbows on my knees and cradle my head in my hands. “You’re right. But it’s because of me that she was hurt. Sh
e could have been killed, Chris, I wasn’t there to protect her. There’s nothing I can do about any of this.”

  He places a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  “Love her,” he commands before opening his door. “Loving her the way she deserves is the only thing you can do.”

  Chris shuts the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I love Misty. There is no doubt in my mind about that, but is that enough? Can I protect her from something like this happening again?

  “Get your ass out of this car or I’ll drag you out,” Chris pounds on the passenger side window, startling me from my thoughts.

  I open the door and climb out.

  “Lucas, do you love my daughter?” he demands.

  “Of course I do,” I respond without hesitation.

  “That’s the only thing that matters. You can worry about everything else tomorrow. Now let’s get in there and see how our girl is doing.”

  The next few hours are a blur. Talking more with the police, I find out that Hana is the stalker who’s been harassing me all this time. She has shrines to me in her bedroom dating back long before I was traded to Indiana.

  Maybe I should be upset or confused, but more than anything, I’m just relieved. I’m glad it’s finally over and I can try to have as normal of a relationship with Misty as possible.

  Once I finish talking to the cops, I call Shelly. Without hesitation, she hops in her car while we’re on the phone. I’m not sure if she’s coming here to keep the press away or because she’s curious about the girl whole stole my heart.

  “This is unbelievable,” Shelly whispers as she slips into Misty’s room.

  I haven’t moved from her bedside since the police finished questioning me.

  “Only you would come to the middle of nowhere to try to escape a stalker and end up coming face-to-face with them.”

  “You’re the one that sent me here,” I grumble, shifting slightly in my seat. “But I don’t regret it for the world.”

  “I’m going to puke,” Shelly deadpans before sitting at the end of Misty’s bed. “I hope she knows what she’s in for. Wrangling you is a full-time job.”

  “There will be no wrangling, because I won’t be anywhere else but with her.”

  “That’s it. I’m out of here. I need to figure out what we’re going to say to the press when they show up, because we both know they will.”

  “How about the truth? My stalker tried to kill my girlfriend.”

  “Dramatic much, Barnes? Although a good love at first sight story would sell some papers.” Shelly types away on her phone as she walks back out of the room.

  I know Shelly is here for support, but sometimes I wish that I was just like everyone else. I wish I could fall in love, get married, and have kids with no one knowing.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Misty chokes out as she brushes her fingers down my cheek. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were planning to break up with me.”

  I grip her hand tightly between both of mine, pressing it against my cheek. “You’re going to need to work a lot harder than that to get rid of me.”

  “What happened to Hana?” Misty tries to sit up. “I mean, she’s batshit crazy, but I hit her over the head pretty hard.”

  I grit my teeth. “She’s fine. She has a concussion and a lot of explaining to do. I never told you this, but one reason I was trying to lay low in Santa Claus was because of a stalker. They’ve been following me for years, but things escalated when the photos of Kayla and I surfaced.”

  “Hana was your stalker?”

  I nod my head in response.

  “I always thought she just needed to eat a Snickers and everything would be fine.” Misty gasps for air as she laughs hysterically at my situation. “That takes skill, Lucas. To fall right into the hands of the person you’re trying to escape from. Bravo.”

  I release her hand. “Laugh it up, Misty. But if I’d never come here, I wouldn’t have found you.”

  Misty immediately stops laughing and whispers, “Am I that special?”

  Now it's my turn to laugh. “I told you I loved you a few hours ago, Misty.”

  She smiles. “Aren’t you lucky I love you too?”

  I lean over slightly, kissing her forehead. “I love you, Mistletoe Claus. I can’t wait to get you out of here so I can show you properly how much I care for you.”

  “I love you too, Lucas Barnes. I can’t wait to blow this popsicle stand.”

  “You just want to get your dose of Vitamin D.”

  Misty flashes me a blinding smile. “Promises, promises.”

  Epilogue

  Mistletoe

  One year later

  “Dad, it’s not like I’ve never been to the city before. Lucas is sending a car to pick me up in a few minutes.” I hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder. “I need to finish getting ready.”

  “Alright, I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll see you two this weekend,” my dad responds before saying goodbye and ending the call.

  I scramble around Lucas’s apartment as I rush to finish getting ready. Although this is mainly for when we are spending time in the city, I still feel like this is more his place than my own. As I finish up putting on my makeup, I think back on everything that’s changed over the last year.

  After they released me from the hospital, Lucas and I were inseparable. If it wasn’t for him being required to be back in the city, he probably never would have left. We tried the long-distance thing for a few months, but it took a toll on both of us.

  I thought that was going to be the end, but Lucas surprised me one weekend, showing up at my dad’s store with a U-Haul packed with everything he would need to start a life with me in Santa Claus. He knew I would never leave my dad alone, and in typical Lucas fashion, knew exactly what I wanted without me having to ask. We now live in Mistletoe Manor. Fitting, if you ask me, since it’s where our relationship started.

  I’m brought back to the present by a knock on the door.

  “Coming!” I shout, grabbing my coat and purse before checking the peephole.

  Charlie, my driver and pseudo bodyguard, is standing outside.

  I swing the door open and smile. “Hey, Charlie. I’m ready when you are.”

  “The car is waiting downstairs, Ms. Claus,” he responds with a smile as he ushers me into the elevator.

  Ever since Hana was released on parole, Lucas has been on edge. I’m not allowed to go anywhere without him or Charlie in tow. Although Hana served her time in jail before getting community service, Lucas isn’t ready to forgive her for what she did to us. He even went as far as requesting temporary restraining orders, although it wasn’t needed. Shortly after she was released, her father sold the pizza shop to nice a couple from Boise. He told my dad he was moving himself and Hana back to Montana. Good riddance, if you ask me.

  “Are you excited for tonight’s game?” Charlie asks as he opens the door.

  I duck inside. “I am. I’ve been waiting for a long time to finally see Lucas play.”

  Charlie smiles, then shuts the door and heads around to the driver’s side.

  The basketball season was long over when Lucas and I met, so I had to wait almost an entire year before I could see him play. Tonight is the season opener for his team. I’m both excited and nervous.

  Because we live in Santa Claus, we haven’t spent much time dealing with the media. If there was anything that needed to be done, Shelly always took care of it. But tonight will be different. This will be my first time being in the public eye. Yes, they all know I exist and have caught a few pictures of the two of us together when we were here in the city, but tonight, I will be on display.

  The car suddenly comes to a stop, and I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. Suddenly, the door swings open.

  “Get out of this car before I drag you out.”

  I flash Shelly a smile before climbing out of the car.

  “I can’t help but be nervous. What if they don’t approv
e of me?”

  “Does it matter?” Shelly wraps her arm around my shoulder and leads me toward the player entrance of the stadium. “Lucas loves you. Period. End of story. Besides, what’s not to like about you?”

  I take that as a rhetorical question and don’t respond, lost in thought. Shelly and I got off to a rocky start, but since she’s discovered how much Lucas and I love each other, she’s softened toward me. As we get closer to the entrance, I notice my surroundings.

  “Aren’t we supposed to be going up to the player box?” I question as she leads me past a sign pointing us toward the court.

  “Lucas wants to see you before the game.” She gives me a reassuring smile as we continue down the corridor toward the court.

  Once I step out of the tunnel, cheering erupts around me. I stop in my tracks, but Shelly leads me toward the center of the court.

  “What’s going on, Shelly?” My voice trembles as I tug my hand back, attempting to break free.

  “Just come with me, Misty. Lucas will be here in a few moments.”

  I follow behind her blindly as the cheers get louder and louder, the closer I get to center court.

  “Wait here.” Shelly gives me a quick hug before retreating.

  A spotlight zeroes in on my shocked expression, projecting it onto the large video screen hanging above the court.

  Just as I’m about to run for the nearest exit, I hear a motorcycle engine rev to my right. Spinning around, I spot a long red carpet rolled out with Lucas at the end. He is sitting on top of his motorcycle wearing a bright red Santa suit. “Here Comes Santa Claus” begins playing loudly as he rides his bike toward me, stopping a few feet short of where I’m standing.

  He winks at me quickly as he climbs off his bike and takes a few steps, stopping right in front of me.